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Driver attempts 800 mile trip in their Chevy Bolt

Discussion in 'GM Hybrids and EVs' started by Ashlem, Mar 9, 2017.

  1. Ashlem

    Ashlem Senior Member

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    Chevy Bolt EV: 800-mile trip in 238-mile electric car shows challenges remain

    She certainly has way more patience than I would for that trip. Then again, I drive a Volt, so if I were attempting this trip, I could just drive straight there using gas.

    But it does point out many EV weaknesses that critics love to point out, namely long recharge times, lack of reliable charging infrastructure and in convenient locations, and having to spend extra time looking around for charging stations.

    Though those issues can gradually get addressed, I can already see them harping on it as if this was the only thing an EV is used for. For regular everyday commuting, most people drive less than 50 miles, which the Bolt can handle easily. GM in their defense, does state that the Bolt is meant as a medium range EV, so someone attempting a long distance trip with it will definitely have their work cut out for them.
     
    #1 Ashlem, Mar 9, 2017
    bisco likes this.
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    absolutely. you can make anything work, if you are determined enough.
     
    #2 bisco, Mar 9, 2017
  3. Jeff N

    Jeff N The answer is 0042

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    As I think I've mentioned previously, I've already done a 1,300 mile trip from San Francisco to LA with addition regional side trips down there over 5 days. I also recently did a one-day 470 mile loop from San Francisco to the Fresno area and back. Both were easy trips that were nearly as convenient as driving a Model S and using Supercharger stations (I have recent personal experience). I ate a snack, got coffee and used the bathroom at Starbucks, or did some useful shopping at the mall while charging so I spent very little time waiting around just for the charging to finish.

    The driver who wrote about her trip at GCR was a novice and made some sub-optimal choices. Basically, she should have tried a bit harder to avoid the slow 24 kW chargers along US-101 and looked for a hotel that had overnight J1772 charging (they exist although they are somewhat rare). She might have been better off driving down CA-99 rather than 101.

    This will all be a lot easier in a couple of years when many more highway corridor DC chargers are available and more hotels have overnight charging. By then we should also have improved apps on CarPlay and Android Auto for helping to plan long-distance routes that include charging stops.
     
    #3 Jeff N, Mar 10, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2017
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